From the FCA's spreadsheet of short positions required to be disclosed to it, the following shows the shorted AIM shares with positions from 2016 and thus far in 2017 (by net short position %) - and if this position has increased (red), reduced (green) or remained unchanged (black) since last week...

Once a year the Mrs allows me to give a lecture to her sociology students at Bath Spa University. Around 70 attended and and I did not hold back. My lecture was recorded as were the slides. Enjoy!

As I write, it is now less than half an hour to the close of trading on Friday 17 November. On Monday, any company previously employing the services of ZAI Corporate Finance as Nomad which has not found a replacement will be booted off the AIM Casino. They include AIM-China plays Grand Group (GIPO) and Northwest Investment Group (NWIG), Polo Resources (POL) and Ukrproduct (UKR).

I know sweet FA about GCM Resources (GCM) so you are on your own on this one. It has just announced an Underwritten Fundraise, to raise up to £2 million at a subscription price of 34.4p per Ordinary Share - via Primary Bid. This represents a discount of 20% to the closing mid price on Friday, 17 November, 2017. You can sign up and take part, if you wish, HERE

Hello Share Pinchers. There are times while trading shares when one can consider suspending logic. One mistake a short-term trader can make is to expect strong balance sheets to always send share prices flying. Successful investors have a secret which is now’t to do with a firm’s fundamentals.

Previously writing on models and collectibles company Hornby (HRN), I noted no longer offering bulk sales at a discount & profit warning, but would it have been profit warning anyway? We now have the results for the six months ended 30th September 2017, a strategy update and a placing and open offer announcement…

I start this podcast with a look at Carillion (CLLN) where I wonder if Steve's damning verdict HERE is just a bit too generous. The boy is too much of a nice guy for his own good.  Then it is onto the FRC which will be writing to 40 AIM and Small Cap companies ahead of them publishing FY numbers. I have a few ideas who and on what areas. The FRC are of course the UK's best regulator if only for recognising the work of the UK's top investigative financial journalist.  Then I look at Angus Energy (ANGS) and finally there is a detailed discussion on MySquar (FRAUD)

Whilst many private investors go chasing rainbows and hoping for one of their oil and gas exploration plays to hit black gold, there are actually a number of AIM listed outfits which are already producing, yet don’t seem to be as popular as they are unlikely to generate large share price rises overnight.

I first warned on shares in Nature Group (NGR) on this website at 11p in 2014 HERE and further since – most recently in June of this year; without additional material contracts in the short term, it’s cash crunch ahoy! The shares have recently been around 3p, but are currently soaring on the back of a “Strategic Partner & sale of interest in US” announcement…

In this bonus podcast prompted by recent events at African Potash (AFPO) and ADVFN (AFN) I look back on other bouts of market insanity. There was the radio boom of the 1920s and the dot com boom of 1999-2001 but is the blockchain bubble at 1999, 2000 or 2001? Among the companies also mentioned are On Line (ONL), Vela (VELA), Milestone Group (MSG)  and Coinsilium (COIN), where we have a small holding. Madness, my friends, is in the air.

Shares in Angus Energy (ANGS) have plunged by 36% to 17.125p today after news from the Lidsey Field which cannot be described as anything other than disappointing. Hope meets reality. At some stage the same process will see shares in UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) crash. Let's start with Angus.

Carillion (CLLN) topped the top shorted London-listed shares at the start of 2017 (recent performance update HERE) and remained so in our Autumn update HERE. Having commenced the year above 235p, the shares had slid below 200p before a July profit warning, business review and Chief Executive “stepped down” announcement. They are currently down from above 40p to below 30p today on the back of an “Update” announcement…

Last month the Jupiter Merlin group which, at one point, had £942 million invested in funds managed by Neil "nomates" Woodford announced that it was pulling out its last monies. Now another big investment group has given up on Britain's most self important fund manager. Aviva, one of the largest savings providers in Britain, has had enough.

SRT Marine Systems (SRT) has announced results for its half-year ended 30th September 2017, stating “steady financial progress broadly in line with our expectations and significant operational and project related activities” and “look forward optimistically to the second half”. Sounds encouraging…

I don’t think I’ve covered 3i Group (iii) before. For one thing, it’s an unattractive brand name, not meaning anything obvious. Secondly, it invests in companies, which we, as canny share shifters, are capable of doing on our own. Then our money is not eaten away by administration costs. But this company is now bowling along and you may want to consider climbing aboard.

Sadly illness is still rife in this house so for this Thursday it is no coffee for me with the fit young mums. At least I shall be in Greece in five days time and that must be restorative to my health. In this podcast I start by looking back on UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) and its death spiral. I explain exactly how it works. Then a few further thoughts on Falanx (FLX) and why I am not selling our shares at this price. Then I look at Alexander Mining (AXM), another mega spoof from Clem Chambers, this time at ADVFN (AFN),  at "Nomates" disaster RM2 (RM2)Fishing Republic (FISH) - a good zero bet -  and at Regal Petroleum (RPT) which seems to be in a spot of bother in Ukraine.

You do not have to be active in the stock markets for long to realise that FTSE-100 companies have the propensity to deliver incompetence and intrigue just like their smaller cap brethren. Today's shocker is centred on automotive and aerospace sector giant GKN (GKN) which has made a bit of a habit over the last few months in bogging things up.

Nanoco Group (NANO) “is pleased to announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 July 2017” and Chairman Dr Christopher Richards states “it is a pleasure to introduce Nanoco's results for the year to 31 July 2017”. Should be encouraging then…

The RNS from Mkango Resources (MKA) reads well. It has done a deal which sees Noble Group farm in to earn a 49% stake in the company's rare earth's project at Songwe by spending £12 million on the ground. But there is a bit of a caveat that bulls opt to ignore.

Drowning in debt and red flags POS Green Dragon (GDG) admitted on 30 October that it was in talks with bondholders to push out repayment terms and it promised that those talks - which had been undserway for a while - would be concluded by 20 November. Well maybe not.